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eoin.mccarthy

Malvern Co-owned Care

Depending on stakeholder preferences, possible models for our proposed

Domiciliary Care venture include, 

  1. A Charitable Incorporated Organization and Community Interest Company (CIC) Limited by Guarantee [not profit distributing]

  2.  A Co-operative  [not profit distributing] or

  3. A Community Interest Company (CIC) Limited by Shares [profit distributing].

The choice of model depends on where and from whom we can raise the

seed capital.


We see a 2-year budget of about £46,000 to set it up and get going.


Vision and Purpose

To be called Malvern Co-owned Care, the Board will be made up of a group

of leaders whose approach will reflect the needs of those elderly and

differently abled people they seek to support.


The vision is to have significant democratic and corporate accountability. A

new bespoke organization structure and set of processes has been

designed to focus control and management responsibility upon the Service

Users who will form the bulk of the voting membership. Service Users will

be in a majority on The Board. Carers and relatives are also to be voting

members.


Co-owned organizations are relatively scarce in social care and yet are

growing in attractiveness as they:-

  • Are managed with input from all immediate stakeholders

  • Fit the latest emphasis on co-production

  • Operate alongside exiting models of social and personal care.


The venture capital sector currently dominates the market. Bound by law

to maximise income for the owners and shareholders, providers are not

primarily focused upon the interests of service users. This sector make-up

sustains the mixed and variable quality of provision.


It is anticipated that Malvern Co-owned Care will be a UK first, on any scale.

Once news of the success and attractiveness of this approach gets

broadcast, it is likely that the model will spread across the UK and help to

eradicate some of the existing frustrations and failures of existing models of

social and personal care.


Those with experience of the sector know what is wrong with the current

approach, where:

  • The quality and reliability of care is erratic

  • Employment contracts are often unbalanced in favour of the employer

These cause:

  • Carer attrition rates to be high

  • Operational volatility to be high and so wasteful of resources.

The priorities of the Malvern Co-owned Care will provide for more

sustainable services and a more equitable approach to the dissemination of

decision-making authority over the management of the services concerned.

In providing good governance, Malvern Co-owned Care leadership will

communicate using:-

  • Direct one-to-one contact

  • A variety formal meetings

  • Lunches together

all of which help to counter the major problem of isolation and loneliness -


most Service Users still have a ‘brain’ and a willingness to use it. For those

who are subject to a ‘power of attorney’, then their representative(s) are

legally authorised to act on their behalf.


Delivery area

The idea is to commence the project in Malvern, Worcestershire and then

spread the model to other areas of the UK and abroad. As news spreads, it

is anticipated that others will volunteer to open Agencies based on those

with Lived Experience controlling both the day-to-day operations and the

strategic approach of each Agency.


Some board facilitation will probably be required in early stages.


Budget

Item or Activity Cost

Office equipment £3,000

Office rent £15,000

Training £8,000

Utilities £4,000

Mileage £12,000

Inspectorate fees (CQC) £1,154.40 (Year 1) and £2,173.29


(Year 2)

Total £45,327.69

Project length (up to two years) 2 Years


Market - Who is to be served

This will initially be a Domiciliary Care Agency supporting Older People and

Adults with Disabilities. Those supported will be Service Users with an

existing history of care take-up, as well as those newly referred for

domiciliary care support.


There is a massive need for good quality approaches to the provision of

care. This would be different to what is currently available as Co-ownership will ensure a resistance to cutting corners, eg providing sufficient induction and regular training, paying for travel time between calls, and the provision of a pension scheme etc.

The funds from sought will assist the project viability in the first two years

and complement the fees received from private service users and those

funded by the Local Authorities.

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